Many conventional turbine systems include a housing that supports a shaft and another housing that houses a turbine wheel connected to the shaft. In turbochargers, the housing that supports the shaft is often referred to as a center housing as it is positioned between a compressor housing and a turbine housing. Conventional techniques for attaching a turbine housing to a center housing rely on a joint secured by a clamp with a circular shape. Such a clamp is usually flexible or expandable and may have a V-shaped cross-section that acts to force two components toward each other upon tensioning of the clamp. Sometimes a clamp with a V-shaped cross-section is referred to as a “v-band”.
In practice, a v-band clamp can effectively join a turbine housing and a center housing axially. However, a v-band clamp may not sufficiently deter rotation of a turbine housing with respect to a center housing. Turbocharger field failures have been reported where the failure mode is turbine housing rotation relative to the center housing. Such rotation can stretch a turbine inlet bellows and eventually results in a cracked bellows and accompanying heavy exhaust leak. An exhaust leak has multiple consequences ranging from engine control, environmental control and hazards to occupants of a vehicle or other exposed to leaked exhaust.
As described herein, in various examples, equipment and techniques can help reduce risk of failures caused wholly or in part by rotation of a turbine housing relative to another housing.